Astronomy and Space

Stars

What is the Big Dipper?

The Big Dipper is a group of seven stars that are part of the constellation Ursa Major. They appear to form a sort of bowl, composed of four stars, with a long handle, composed of three stars. The group is known as the Plough in Great Britain. The Big Dipper is almost always visible in the Northern Hemisphere. It serves as a convenient reference point when locating other stars; for example, an imaginary line drawn from the two end stars of the dipper leads to Polaris, the North Star.